Most people think recessions are bad for business. But I’m a silver-lining-in-the-cloud-type of guy. Here are a few things that represent the upside of a recession:

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1. Competition Can Get Conservative. In recessions, many organizations look to cut costs. Some of those costs can be marketing costs. So, if your competition cuts its marketing and you sustain or increase yours, you can gain market share. It’s even better when your competitors go out of business.

2. More Talent Is Available. Recessions are invariably characterized by higher unemployment. That means that more good talent becomes available. It’s a great time to hire!

3. Suppliers Lower Prices. Many suppliers see their revenues drop during a recession. So they may drop prices in order to stay afloat. It is a great time to leverage that fact and lock in some good pricing for the long term, thereby improving your company’s cost structure.

4. Recessions Don’t Last Forever. Some organizations panic like it’s the end of the world with cutting marketing, laying off their workforce, etc. Then they are poorly positioned to resume business as usual once the economy rebounds. The way I look at it, if the economy could withstand – and prosper after – 9/11, the dot com bust, and the Enron-type scandals all happening substantially at once, it can recover from anything!

As Next Level Purchasing continues its aggressive growth trajectory, you better believe we’ll be led by these principles.

Recession, schmecession.